SPA141 and SPI114 Colors of People and Power...

Probably the coolest thing about teaching is the ability to make things connect in more than one class and in more than one way. It's just a wonderful way to make you think, have you wonder, and try to make learning relevant.

SPA141
In Culture and Civilization class we were discussing the social structure of the Latin America before the countries began to fight for their Independence, before the Revolutions. Basically society was arranged like this:

     1. Peninsulares = Spaniards, born in Spain, the highest class.
     2. Creoles = Spaniards (actually could be French, Portuguese...) born in the Americas
     3. Mestizos = Spaniards + Native Americans (modern definitions use European descendants)
     4. Mulattoes = Spaniards + Africans (modern definitions use European descendants)
     5. Africans
     6. Native Americans

In a nut shell...the Peninsulares, fewer in number, but the wealthiest, while the Native Americans were higher in number and the poorest. Several conversations were sparked by this social structure.

Here are the things we noticed:
     1. The lighter your complexion, the more power, the more money, and the more privilege you had.
         Side Note...one of the students noticed that there isn't or there shouldn't have been a difference in the
         complexions of the Peninsulares and the Creoles, yet their society had to separate them. Why?

     2. Using the theory that the lighter the complexion the higher the privilege, then how do we explain that the
         Africans were higher than the Native Americans? Economics...supply and demand. The Native
         Americans at one time were in abundance and the Africans were few. The Native Americans were
         local, while the Africans had to be shipped in. 

As we begin to study the revolutions, the uprisings, the revolts, and the fights for independence we'll see that Mestizos, the Mulattoes, The Africans, and the Native Americans had finally reached that boiling point and fought back. Why didn't the Creoles rebel? Can you imagine your parents treating you less, because of where you were born?

I'm always amazed at how history repeats itself and how it seems we, as a people, never learn. What's the difference between the "Grito de Dolores" the fight for Mexican Independence in 1810 and the Cuban revolution in 1959?

Finally, one of the students commented on how that social structure isn't very different from today. She however, was speaking as an American and not as a Latin American. Color is important in the US. People are risking their health tanning to become darker or they're bleaching and using other chemicals to become lighter. Face it "Black" and "White" is a big deal in the US.  People are either denying their ancestry or fighting to have it recognized.

SPI114
The conversation crossed over to the Interpreting class. One of my students in Panamanian and she started the class with this question, "Why do people (Americans) ask me what I am? I say, I'm Panamanian and they say no, are you black? Are you mixed? What are you?" Her response is simple...I'm Panamanian.

I wondered...how do Latin Americans classify their ethnic groups? Do they still use terminology like "creole", "mestizo", or "mulatto"? We use the word "creole" in the US, but it has a very different meaning, why? How did the word change from the Latin American meaning to ours? Could those "Colonial, Pre-Independence" Latin American terms be used TODAY in the US? Why, or Why not?

I went to the below website and noticed some pretty interesting things about the "labeling" of people in Latin American countries. Our conversation next week will continue on this topic and how as an interpreter this information is important.  I'm interested in your thoughts.

http://latinostories.com/Latin_America_Resources/Latin_American_Ethnic_Groups.htm